Aston Villa are unhappy about the current profit and sustainability rules in place.
Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris has hit out at the current Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR) – calling them ‘anti-competitive’.
Villa have qualified for next season’s Champions League after finishing fourth in the Premier League but are still having to ensure they don’t breach financial regulations. Unai Emery’s side have reportedly agreed to sell key midfielder Douglas Luiz to Juventus.
In the 2023-24 season, Everton were hit with a total of eight points for two separate breaches of PSR while Nottingham Forest were docked four points.
Sawiris, who is Egypt’s richest man and owns Villa with American billionaire Wes Edens, spoke to the Financial Times about the current rules in place. He admitted that he’s seeking legal advice as to whether they keep the league ‘anti-competitive’ on whether lodge a formal complaint.
“Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport,” said Sawiris. “The rules do not make sense and are not good for football.”
Current PSR rules allow clubs to lose a combined £105 million over a three-year period. Villa reportedly were defeated in a recent Premier League vote to increase the threshold to £135 million. Sawiris believes that meeting the current demands are awry from how sports teams should be managed.
He added: “Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs. It’s more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game.”
Sawiris’ comments come against the backdrop of Manchester City’s arbitration case against the Premier League over associated-party transaction rules. City believe that rules which restrict an owner’s ability to agree significant sponsorship agreements between the club they run and the companies they own or are associated with are wrong. The case is expected to last until the end of next week. It is separate from City being hit with 115 charges by the Premier League for alleged financial charges between 2009-2018.
